1. Technical Field
The present subject matter relates to communication networks and particularly to networks that can accommodate multiple classes of devices.
2. Background Information
Various industry communication standards have been promulgated to which devices that couple to a network adhere to ensure that disparate devices and devices from different manufacturers can effectively communicate with each other. One exemplary family of standards related to wireless local area networks (“WLANs”) is the IEEE 802.11 family of standards.
As technology progresses, the performance of electronic devices generally increases as is desirable. For example, the maximum achievable data transfer rate between devices on a network may increase. It may be desirable for purposes of achieving higher performance, in fact, to permit newer devices to deviate from an older standard. Being free of the confines of an older standard may permit the new devices to achieve higher levels of performance that would otherwise be impractical or impossible given the older standard.
Although deviation from an older standard to develop newer devices may be desirable for performance reasons, doing so is not always practical because the devices already in use that comply with the older standard may not be compatible with the newer devices, thereby effectively making the older devices obsolete. This problem is particularly acute in wireless LANs that operate in unlicensed spectrum, where the spectrum is a shared resource. In such cases the devices compatible with the older standard (“legacy devices”) may have already been deployed in large numbers and be operational in the frequency band of interest. Thus, a tension exists between development of newer devices that achieve higher levels of performance and retaining use of older devices.